The education of clinician-scientists is of paramount importance to the field of Otolaryngology. The need for interface between science and medicine, the importance of clinicians that value scientific research, and the increased importance of evidence-based medicine in health care all argue for research training of physicians. Moreover, the impact of immunological mechanisms in many ENT diseases has received increased attention in the past decade, and we are seeing an increase in the use of immune/inflammatory therapeutics in our field. Yet Otolaryngology remains behind many other areas of medicine in immunology research. As an example, the area of innate immunity mediated by pathogen receptors has seen a dramatic expansion in the broader field of immunology and infectious diseases over the past 20 years, and the head and neck represent a major pathogen interface. However, only within the last few years has an increase in innate immune research been seen in our field. In addition, the availability of molecular methods has also transformed research in immunology and other areas of biomedicine, molecular therapies are in active development, and the era of genomic medicine has arrived. Clinician-scientists well trained in molecular biology are therefore needed. Over the past 30 years, the UCSD Division of Otolaryngology has steadily expanded its research in both immunology and molecular biology, until we have a well-established cadre of biomedical scientists. The available talents of these investigators provide a unique and fertile training ground for young clinicians who wish to pursue these arenas of research, so that Otolaryngology can be assured of a select group of well- trained, clinically oriented researchers. To this end, we propose to continue our clinician-scientist research- training program. The program is designed to address the major barriers to research by clinicians by providing training in: 1) experimental design and scientific techniques; 2) research collaboration and team- building; 3) grant and scientific manuscript writing; 4) managing the conflict between clinical work and research; and 5) preparation for academic medicine. The trainees for this program will be selected from MD's who wish to pursue eighteen months of full-time research training during their Otolaryngology residency. Trainees will receive advanced basic science, translational or clinical research training in the application of advanced immunology and molecular biology methods to research problems in Otolaryngology. Research training will extend throughout the residency period, to provide continuity and avoid a significant training gap. Trainees will also receive instruction in research ethics, responsible conduct of research, and initial review board applications.